This book makes the somewhat mysterious subject of poetry clear for those who read it and for those who write it and for those who would like to read it and write it better. Koch accomplishes this revelation of poetry by presenting the idea that poetry is a separate language, a language in which music and sound are as important as syntax or meaning.
Thus he is able to clarify the many aspects of poetry: the nature of poetic inspiration, what happens when a poet is writing a poem, revision, and what actually goes on while one is reading a poem - how confusion or only partial understanding eventually leads to truly experiencing a poem. Among the poets whose work is included are Homer, Ovid, Sappho, Shakespeare, Byron, Dickinson, Baudelaire, Li Bei, Stevens, Williams, Lorea, Ashbery, and Snyder.
